Forking out at Christmas
Jennifer Paterson
We had better start with the two books most obviously to do with Christmas, as it will be over before you can say Twelfth Night. First there is Leith's Complete Christmas by Prue Leith, Caroline Walde- grave and Fiona Burrell (Bloomsbury, £14.99). You can't go wrong here if you have a blank mind for the festive season. These three high-powered business-women cooks have produced a comprehensive book for the two-week holiday, cold, hot, sweet, sour, and an excellent chapter of creative leftovers, which I always think turn out to be the best and most interesting dishes. There is also a list of suppliers and jolly drinks.
The other seasonal book is Paul Levy's The Feast of Christmas (Kyle Cathie, £9.99). This delves into the origins and tra- ditions of receipts for the feast with many contributions from friends. It seems to be appearing on the television, so you can judge for yourselves.
Now the monsters. We have Giuliano Bugialli's Foods of Tuscany (Diana Holmes, £25) with gorgeous, if rather arty, photographs taken by John Dominis. The receipts are arranged in courses and very good they are too, as are most things from that terrain. It is such a grand book that I would fear for its safety in the kitchen, but it is well worth studying for joy and new ideas.
La Tante Claire by Pierre Koffmann and Timothy Shaw (Headline, £19.99) is the
second part of Koffmann's gastronomic autobiography, explaining how he started, worked under the Roux brothers and final- ly opened his own restaurant, La Tante Claire, which immediately gained two Michelin stars and has never looked back. Fascinating. The receipts, on the whole, are not for beginners, but they are to make you dream, though there are certain wonderful things like the ox cheek braised in wine, which anyone could cook. More arty photographs from Anthony Blake.
Larousse Pratique (Hamlyn, £25) falls into the wedding-present category: an A-Z cookery book of contemporary cooking which tells you practically everything you need to know and should be a treasure through life for reference, together with over 750 receipts to keep the young couple happy at the stove.
The last monster is The Encyclopaedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavourings by Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz (Dorling Kindersly, £19.99). A splendid great reference book with the addition of interesting little receipts be- fitting various condiments and spices from all over the world. Teas, oils, coffees and peppers are all included, together with some wildly exotic powders and seeds. A very beguiling book for browsing. Not so huge but very thick is The New Complete International Jewish Cookbook by Evelyn Rose (Robson Books, £29.95), fully revised and updated. I should think so, at that price, but it does seem to be a very good sort of Bible. To go with it you might like In Search of Plenty by Oded Schwartz (Kyle Cathie, £17.99), a fascinating history of Jewish food, the laws of Kosher and the way of life and eating habits of the ancient Jews, Ashkenazi food, Israeli food and Western food. There is even a receipt for Schmaltz, which seems to be a greasy onion and carrot sauce. I always thought it was something sweet and cloying.
If China is your place there is a very grand Classic Food of China by Yan-Kit So (Macmillan, £25). This, again, is a culinary history of Chinese food with really well described receipts ranging from regal court dishes to simple peasant fare. Her last book was terrific and so is this. A simpler and more modern type of Chinese cooking comes from dear Kenneth Lo to celebrate his 80th birthday. I have a tender spot for Mr Lo as I have always followed his receipts with great success. Classic Chinese Cuisine (Simon & Schuster, £9.99) lives up to Mr Lo's international reputation and is also a very pretty book. Must be all that tennis he plays.
Sue Style has come up with two books of totally different aspect. A Taste of Switzer- land (Pavilion, £15.99) is a glossy travel- ogue of a book with gorgeous photographs by John Miller and surprisingly interesting and useful receipts — far from just fondue and chocolate, though they are there, of course. The other book, Honey: From the Hive to the Honeypot (Pavilion, £9.99), is a ravishing little treasure, charmingly illus- trated by Graham Evernden, and would be a fine present: all about the history of this nectar, the role of the beekeeper and lots of delicious uses for honey in cooking, though no receipt for dormice.
The Easy to Cook range, with blow-by- blow explanations and details, have produced Pasta by Mary Cadogan, Vegetables by Jacqueline Clark, Stir Fries by Lyn Rutherford and Chicken by Carole Handslip (Anaya, £9.99 each), all very use- ful for beginners. In similar vein Anne Willan's Look & Cook range gives us Meat Classics, Main Dish Vegetables and Fruit Desserts (Dorling Kindersley, £10.99 each). Anne Willan is the founder of the Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne and these books are very sound stuff.
Vegetarians, God bless 'em, should be cheered up by The Inspired Vegetarian (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, £14.99), a lovely book by Louise Pickford, who is a profes- sional food stylist, whatever that might be. Not too many lentils. Vegetarian Delights by Judy Ridgway (Piatkus Books, £12.99) can also add health and happiness to the grow- ing band.
Although it is only a paperback, Philip Diamond's Covent Garden Fish Book (Kyle Cathie, £9.99) is a must. It tells all about the stranger fish we now see, as well as everything you need to know about the old faithfuls, the shopping for, the freshness to look for and the cooking of. A great and useful book.
Jennifer Paterson's Feast Days is now available in paperback from Grafton at £5.99.
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